Monday, 14 March 2011

Charlie Sheen death hoax spreads malware on Facebook and Twitter

No, despite what you may have heard on Facebook and Twitter, Charlie Sheen is not yet dead.

With the eye-catching title of "RIP! Charlie Sheen found Dead at his House," a massive clickjacking hoax is doing the rounds on Facebook and Twitter. Clicking the link will take you to a fake YouTube page -- and if you click anywhere on the page, the hoax will infect your Facebook profile and begin sharing the link to your friends.

You are then asked to complete a survey (why does anyone complete these surveys?) Finally, to consummate the malware trifecta, some users are reporting that malware is downloaded to your computer.

If you've fallen prey to this drug-and-porn media orgy and clicked the "RIP!" link, head to Account > Privacy Settings > Edit your settings (bottom left). Alternatively, click this link to go straight to your app settings. From there, revoke any applications that look spammy (they'll be at the top of the list).